A statue of late Pope St. John Paul II is backdropped Wednesday by the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome after The Vatican said Pope Francis has been taken there in the afternoon for some scheduled tests. The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. But his audiences through Friday were canceled, raising questions about Francis' participation during the Vatican's Holy Week activities starting Sunday.
Associated Press
ROME (AP) - Pope Francis showed a "marked improvement" Thursday after being given intravenous antibiotics for a bronchitis infection and could be released from the hospital in the coming days, the Vatican and his doctors reported.
The 86-year-old pontiff, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, ate breakfast, read the newspapers, rested and worked from his hospital room at Rome's Gemelli hospital, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.
An additional update provided late Thursday by doctors revealed Francis had been diagnosed with bronchitis. The infection "required the administration of antibiotic therapy on an infusion basis which produced the expected effects with a marked improvement in his state of health," the doctors' statement said.
"Based on the expected course, the Holy Father could be discharged in the coming days," it concluded.
The time frame brought into question Francis' participation in Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square this weekend, as well as his presence during Holy Week activities. They include Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday on April 9.
Francis was hospitalized Wednesday after having trouble breathing in recent days.
It was the first time he had back to Gemelli since he had 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed and spent 10 days there in July 2021.
Despite his absence, the Holy See was abuzz with activity Thursday: Two Vatican offices issued a historic statement repudiating the "Doctrine of Discovery," the legal theory backed by 15th century papal bulls that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property law today.
And there was continued fallout over the sudden resignation of a founding member of the pope's sex abuse prevention board, with Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley pushing back against Rev. Hans Zollner's critiques in his remarkable resignation statement issued the previous day.
He said soon after the intestinal surgery that he had recovered fully and could eat normally. But in a Jan. 24 interview with The Associated Press, Francis said his diverticulosis, or bulges in the intestinal wall, had "returned."
Francis has used a wheelchair for over a year due to strained ligaments in his right knee and a small knee fracture, though he had been walking more with a cane of late.
Francis has said he resisted having surgery for the knee problems because he didn't respond well to general anesthesia during the 2021 intestinal surgery.
Pope Francis helped to get on his car at the end of weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Pope Francis went to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for some previously scheduled tests, slipping out of the Vatican after his general audience and before the busy start of Holy Week this Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Francis sits as he holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Francis meets children at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Pope Francis went to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for some previously scheduled tests, slipping out of the Vatican after his general audience and before the busy start of Holy Week this Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Nuns walk past the Agostino Gemelli hospital in front of the rooms on the top floor normally used when a pope is hospitalized, in Rome, Thursday, March 30, 2023, after The Vatican said Pope Francis has been taken there in the afternoon for some scheduled tests. The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. But his audiences through Friday were canceled, raising questions about Francis' participation during the Vatican's Holy Week activities starting Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Francis helped to get on his car at the end of weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Pope Francis went to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for some previously scheduled tests, slipping out of the Vatican after his general audience and before the busy start of Holy Week this Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A view of the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, after The Vatican said Pope Francis has been taken there in the afternoon for some scheduled tests. The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. But his audiences through Friday were canceled, raising questions about Francis' participation during the Vatican's Holy Week activities starting Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A view of the rooms on the top floor of the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, normally used when a pope is hospitalized, after The Vatican said Pope Francis has been taken there in the afternoon for some scheduled tests. The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. But his audiences through Friday were canceled, raising questions about Francis' participation during the Vatican's Holy Week activities starting Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A statue of late Pope St. John Paul II is backdropped by the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, after The Vatican said Pope Francis has been taken there in the afternoon for some scheduled tests. The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. But his audiences through Friday were canceled, raising questions about Francis' participation during the Vatican's Holy Week activities starting Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Members of the media set up their gear outside the Agostino Gemelli hospital under the rooms on the top floor normally used when a pope is hospitalized, in Rome, Thursday, March 30, 2023, after The Vatican said Pope Francis has been taken there in the afternoon for some scheduled tests. The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. But his audiences through Friday were canceled, raising questions about Francis' participation during the Vatican's Holy Week activities starting Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A journalists prepares for a stand up outside the Agostino Gemelli hospital in front the rooms on the top floor normally used when a pope is hospitalized, in Rome, Thursday, March 30, 2023, after The Vatican said Pope Francis has been taken there in the afternoon for some scheduled tests. The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Members of the media set up their gear outside the Agostino Gemelli hospital under the rooms on the top floor normally used when a pope is hospitalized, in Rome, Thursday, March 30, 2023, after The Vatican said Pope Francis has been taken there in the afternoon for some scheduled tests. The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. But his audiences through Friday were canceled, raising questions about Francis' participation during the Vatican's Holy Week activities starting Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
The Agostino Gemelli hospital rooms normally used when a pope is hospitalized are reflected in the teleprompter of a television reporter, in Rome, Thursday, March 30, 2023, after The Vatican said Pope Francis has been taken there in the afternoon for some scheduled tests. The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)